This thesis makes two broad claims. It contends firstly that there is considerable variation in national consciousness across the population of a stateless nation. People can and do feel minutely, partly or wholely Breton, Scottish or Quebecois. Moreover, these are not merely differences of degree. Underlying the uneven intensity of nationalist sentiment within stateless nations is qualitative variation in the buttresses of national consciousness. Some - typically those with weaker national identities - are "pragmatist nationalists": people whose sense of belonging to a distinct community is firmly grounded in tangible sociological differences, be they ethnic, linguistic, religious or political. Others, more taken with the nation, are "idealist nationalists"; their sense of national belonging is more the product of an abstract and idealized sense of connectedness than hard and concrete sociological difference. This basic difference in the underpinnings of national identity, along with other attendant contrasts between pragmatist and idealist nationalists, are explored through historical analysis of various nationalist organizations and activists in Brittany, Scotland and Quebec. The second central proposition is that this qualitative variation in national identity is an important determinant of political behavior. Many of the wide-ranging attitudes and behaviors seen among exponents of the nationalist cause can be traced back to the conditioning effects of national identity on the outlook and political disposition of different nationalist players. In making this case, the analysis proceeds thematically, drawing examples variously from the three cases; it offers, in places, quantitative evidence based on analysis of the original data from previously conducted surveys. Various attitudinal and behavioral phenomena are thus explored: perceptions of the legitimacy of different means of effecting changes in the nation's political status (e.g. violence versus democratic means); the rationality of different nationalist players; their patterns of participation in nationalist projects; and overall mobilization trends. While these phenomena are somewhat disparate, they are linked by an overarching theme: idealist nationalists are less sensitive to empirical realities than their pragmatist counterparts. They are consequently more intransigent and uncompromising in their attitudes and behavior, and for this reason often play an important vanguard role in the process of nationalist mobilization.

This thesis makes two broad claims. It contends firstly that there is considerable variation in national consciousness across the population of a stateless nation. People can and do feel minutely, partly or wholely Breton, Scottish or Quebecois. Moreover, these are not merely differences of degree. Underlying the uneven intensity of nationalist sentiment within stateless nations is qualitative variation in the buttresses of national consciousness. Some - typically those with weaker national identities - are "pragmatist nationalists": people whose sense of belonging to a distinct community is firmly grounded in tangible sociological differences, be they ethnic, linguistic, religious or political. Others, more taken with the nation, are "idealist nationalists"; their sense of national belonging is more the product of an abstract and idealized sense of connectedness than hard and concrete sociological difference. This basic difference in the underpinnings of national identity, along with other attendant contrasts between pragmatist and idealist nationalists, are explored through historical analysis of various nationalist organizations and activists in Brittany, Scotland and Quebec. The second central proposition is that this qualitative variation in national identity is an important determinant of political behavior. Many of the wide-ranging attitudes and behaviors seen among exponents of the nationalist cause can be traced back to the conditioning effects of national identity on the outlook and political disposition of different nationalist players. In making this case, the analysis proceeds thematically, drawing examples variously from the three cases; it offers, in places, quantitative evidence based on analysis of the original data from previously conducted surveys. Various attitudinal and behavioral phenomena are thus explored: perceptions of the legitimacy of different means of effecting changes in the nation's political status (e.g. violence versus democratic means); the rationality of different nationalist players; their patterns of participation in nationalist projects; and overall mobilization trends. While these phenomena are somewhat disparate, they are linked by an overarching theme: idealist nationalists are less sensitive to empirical realities than their pragmatist counterparts. They are consequently more intransigent and uncompromising in their attitudes and behavior, and for this reason often play an important vanguard role in the process of nationalist mobilization. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

In 1971, Robert Bourassa, then Premier of Quebec, launched a major hydroelectric scheme to be built 1400 km North of Montreal. Known as the "James Bay" project, the first phase included the creation of eight powerhouses, six reservoirs and the diversion of two rivers. These transformations necessarily impacted the local Cree people; a territorial agreement partly compensated them but remains controversial to this day. While northern communities overwhelmingly bear the ecological cost of the project, the bulk of James Bay energy flows south to the industrial centers of Quebec, Ontario and the U.S. The assertion then that "James Bay belongs to all the Quebecois" which was meant to ease political tensions about the project begs the question, "Who are the Quebecois" and how do the Crees fit within such a community? This thesis explore that question by looking at the Quebecois cultural production of territory and its resources in the north. If James Bay was out of reach, it was never out of view. Media and political discourses reiterated key elements of a Quebecois cultural relationship to place, some of which are contained in the rural literature known as the roman de la terre. Several elements of this literature and its broader context were recontextualized in James Bay, particularly as they pertained to the will to occupy the land and develop natural resources. This was an important aspect of making James Bay - a land historically inhabited by the Crees - into a "Quebecois" national landscape. I suggest that this process was largely rooted in representations of nature that sought to bind it with nation and national identity. Thus James Bay demonstrates the close connection between identity and environmental struggles. For the Quebecois, the access to James Bay was supported by a territorial discourse that performed their own cultural past. This provoked an organized resistance from the Crees which constituted them as a modern political unit. A look at the cultural geography of the region highlights the political scales created in the accessing of resources that render their equitable and sustainable use more difficult to achieve.

In 1971, Robert Bourassa, then Premier of Quebec, launched a major hydroelectric scheme to be built 1400 km North of Montreal. Known as the "James Bay" project, the first phase included the creation of eight powerhouses, six reservoirs and the diversion of two rivers. These transformations necessarily impacted the local Cree people; a territorial agreement partly compensated them but remains controversial to this day. While northern communities overwhelmingly bear the ecological cost of the project, the bulk of James Bay energy flows south to the industrial centers of Quebec, Ontario and the U.S. The assertion then that "James Bay belongs to all the Quebecois" which was meant to ease political tensions about the project begs the question, "Who are the Quebecois" and how do the Crees fit within such a community? This thesis explore that question by looking at the Quebecois cultural production of territory and its resources in the north. If James Bay was out of reach, it was never out of view. Media and political discourses reiterated key elements of a Quebecois cultural relationship to place, some of which are contained in the rural literature known as the roman de la terre. Several elements of this literature and its broader context were recontextualized in James Bay, particularly as they pertained to the will to occupy the land and develop natural resources. This was an important aspect of making James Bay - a land historically inhabited by the Crees - into a "Quebecois" national landscape. I suggest that this process was largely rooted in representations of nature that sought to bind it with nation and national identity. Thus James Bay demonstrates the close connection between identity and environmental struggles. For the Quebecois, the access to James Bay was supported by a territorial discourse that performed their own cultural past. This provoked an organized resistance from the Crees which constituted them as a modern political unit. A look at the cultural geography of the region highlights the political scales created in the accessing of resources that render their equitable and sustainable use more difficult to achieve. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate